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Looks like Reno rolls the 7.
"Electric car maker Tesla Motors said Thursday that it is preparing a site near Reno, Nevada, as a possible location for its new battery factory, but is still evaluating other sites.
Tesla said it broke ground on the Nevada site in June. It said further that a final decision on the location for the $5 billion factory will be made in the next few months. Tesla has dubbed the proposed facility the "gigafactory," and says it could employ 6,500 people by 2020."
Tesla says decision on battery factory months away (Las Cruces Sun-News)
"In February 2013, I wrote that after driving my Model S, I couldn’t drive my Mercedes–Benz any more — it was like listening to an old cassette tape. I compared my Tesla to a supermodel working a Paris catwalk and the Porches and Ferraris owned by my friends to supercharged lawn mowers.
But then I realized that wasn’t a fair comparison. They’re cars of different categories and prices. It wasn’t an either, or: this car was for a different market."
What happens when a Tesla fanboy meets the Mercedes-Benz electric car (Washington Post)
I'm gonna drive one Friday 8/22---I'll let you all know what I think.
Well, this is bad news for the EV community:
http://transportevolved.com/2014/08/18/meet-latest-electric-car-charging-station-menace-copper-theives/
The other day I replaced my gas cap to fix an EVAP code. I toyed with the idea of getting a locking cap. These days the crooks are just as likely to puncture the tank and drain it instead of siphoning the gas anyway.
MB with "deafening" engine noise and hesitation? I'd be curious to know which model the wealthy academic owned (or if he could even name it). Even AMG cars are pretty quiet unless at WOT.
I wonder how much stock he owns...
Time to end the tax breaks. Now.
ROAD TEST TESLA!
Okay, I'm just back from a good long 45 minute road test of the Tesla S and here's what happened:
Styling Exterior-- I liked the styling very much "in person". For a large, heavy car it does a nice job of disguising its size and weight. There are no jarring lines or kitschy details.
Styling Interior -- nice choice of fabrics or leathers and trim. Not a warm and friendly place though--maybe if you choose the wood grain trim option, you'd feel a bit more cozy. It feels like I'm sitting in an iPhone. Speaking of seats---
Comfort -- seats are TOO HARD, especially in back. Punishing. And the rear floor is very high in relation to the seat level, so that tall people sit "knees up". I would not be a big fan of this car if I were relegated to the rear seat. Front seats are better, but the windshield is too narrow top to bottom. One gets the feeling that if the road suddenly started to rise, you'd lose the sky completely (probably not but one does get the "tank slit" impression now and then).
Accessories -- you'd kind of expect more for your money. There's a giant NAV and DIC screen, but the NAV doesn't give you directions unless you buy the $3700 additional "tech package". So for $85,000, you don't get turn by turn directions or voice command. Say what?! Also no driver assist such as lane avoidance or collision avoidance, even if you option all the way up to the $130,000 maximum Tesla. There's also no SAT radio. They did build in Slacker and there's a 3G system. Very nice driver interface and good ergonomics all in all.
Performance -- acceleration is awesome. Feels like 400+ HP, Crazy fast car for its size. Crisp turn in, flat cornering, but you can certainly tell the car wants to go straight in a turn. This isn't a sports sedan.
Driving -- easy to drive but the regenerative braking takes some getting used to. It takes a little while to become smooth driving the car. Realistic range in normal driving? I'd say 250 miles max. Push it hard and it's down from there.
Shifty's Verdict -- an impressive bit of engineering but conventional luxury cars are already surpassing it in features, and probably for less money.
it's time for Tesla to up its game.
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094442_tesla-battery-cost-new-report-suggests-model-3-to-cost-50k-or-more?kinja
I'm surprised that taxpayers in these states are not motivated to activism by these tactics, but they seem strangely reluctant to really look into what's involved here.
“Autonomous cars will definitely be a reality,” he tells CNNMoney in an interview. “A Tesla car next year will probably be 90% capable of autopilot. Like, so 90% of your miles can be on auto. For sure highway travel.”
Elon Musk Predicts Tesla Cars Will Be Able To Drive Themselves 90% Of The Time In 2015 (consumerist.com)
Ca
Aren't they all? We enthusiasts don't generally like this autonomous driving trend, because we enjoy driving, it's part of our skill set (exemplified by your handle, "shiftright"), and we identify with our unique driving style. However, many younger people and the next yet-to-be-born generation will embrace it. We also associate driving with freedom and, to some extent, adventure. For us, getting a drivers license was a rite of passage.
For many young people, by contrast, driving is just another chore, and getting a drivers license is not a big deal. Also, many people, regulators, and the insurance industry assign a lot of value to the purported safety attributed to autonomous driving. In 30 years, give or take a few, driving will be a lost art. It'll still be available for those who want to drive, just as horseback riding still is today, but it won't be part of our daily routine. My guess is that eventually driving won't even be an option on many public roads. Sadly for us, most of the topics on Edmunds will be obsolete.
Already, cameras and nannies on new cars are supplanting the skills we learned and cherished.
Analysts Predict Tesla Adding All-Wheel-Drive to Model S (Bloomberg)
"There is no Moore’s law for batteries. That is, while the computing power of microchips doubles every 18 months, the capacity of the batteries on which ever more of our gadgets depend exhibits no such exponential growth. In a good year, the capacity of the best batteries in our mobile phones, tablets and notebook computers—and increasingly, in our cars and household gadgets—increases just a few percent.
It turns out that storing energy safely and reliably is hard in a way that miniaturizing circuits is not. A pound of [gasoline has 20 time the energy of a pound of batteries.]"
It went on from there, and noted that the slow progress in batteries is why Tesla is willing to commit to today's technology (Li-Ion) batteries for the mega plant.
“The franchise system is the best way to go,” he said, adding that he likes Tesla’s Model S. The NADA, which represents almost 16,000 new-car dealers, has opposed the Tesla’s decision to forgo the use of franchised dealerships while leaving legal challenges up to states.
U.S. Dealers Defend Franchise System Amid Tesla’s Threat (Bloomberg)
Musk said while there will be a wait for the dual motor models, all trim levels of the Model S made since the last week of September have been rolling out of the factory with the hardware installed for a Tesla "autopilot" safety system."
Tesla Announces Model S-D With All-Wheel Drive and Active Safety Enhancements
"The 85 kWh version will be available for delivery in December, while the 60D and P85D models will begin delivery in February. The 60D and 85D will carry a $4,000 price premium over their read-wheel drive variants, while the top P85D adds $14,600 to the P85's already high $93,400 base price. Autopilot is rolled into the technology package, which is a $4,250 option. A stripped 60D with no options beyond the base configuration will cost $75,070, while a fully kitted out P85D with every option except for winter tires will cost $137,720 (both prices are without incentives and before taxes)."
A fully equipped Audi A8 twin turbo V8 Quattro will price out at about $105K.
The Tesla is more like a Rolex watch or the most expensive iPad you can buy.
I think buyers treat the car as a high-tech toy and I think stockholders treat the stock like a high tech stock.
The performance of this new variant is impressive, but Tesla interior materials/design, and to some degree, exterior design, now needs to mature. I am not expecting to see S-class sales plummet.
Besides, there are major obstacles still to be overcome, such as teaching a computer to make "judgment calls" or to obey hand signals from road workers or traffic cops.
Next up, junk the HOV lanes and convert them to autonomous lanes, and watch the trains of cars go by.
Tesla blog calls Michigan bill "a raw deal" (Detroit News)
http://www.autonews.com/article/20141103/RETAIL/141109964
"Article in @WSJ re Tesla sales is incorrect," he tweeted-- "September was a record high WW and up 65% year-over-year in North America."
Fortune magazine wonders if Musk is '"guilty of some terminological inexactitude."
My take is that while Tesla's U.S. sales are down, year-over year, global sales are up.
Pedestrians are targets in Netherlands.